Quick Lunch Series: Edamame & Zucchini Wraps

Recently, during a flying trip,  I picked up some wraps from Starbucks as snacks. I wasn’t sure if I would have time to halt for lunch and seeing them on the menu, I knew they were perfect snack to fill in until the next meal. And I was right. They were delicious!

Since then, I have been itching to make them at home. And here’s how I made mine.

Ingredients:

Sun dried tomato, jalapeno and garlic hummus (BTW Starbucks used Edamame hummus & garlic and herb cheese spread)
1 Spinach tortilla
a handful of edamame, shelled (optional)
2-3 mini zucchini, sliced
1/4 red bell pepper, sliced or chapped
a handful of spinach leaves

To make wraps, lay out a tortilla. Generously apply 1-2 tbsp of hummus. Layer thinly sliced zucchini, red bell peppers, edamame (optional) and spinach. Drizzle some lemon juice. Roll into a wrap and slice into two or three mini wraps.

Delicious! I think the hummus makes the difference 🙂

See Also:

Sun-dried Tomato and Jalapeno Hummus

Sun-dried Tomato & Jalapeno Hummus

One of my favorite combinations is Sun-dried Tomato and Jalapeno: be it for bread or hummus. And of course you can’t find this in the grocery store. So I decided to make my own.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup dry chickpeas
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
1-2 jalapenos
2-3 garlic cloves
3-4 tbsp olive oil
juice of one lemon
salt to taste
a few crushed peppers to sprinkle

Soak the chickpeas overnight or for 10 -12hours in twice the amount of water. Rinse and cover with 1.5 times water and steam in a pressure cooker. I typically use twice the amount of water, but this time decided to reduce the amount, so I don’t need to throw any left over water away. You can also cook the chickpeas stove top until the chickpeas soften. Remove and let cool.

To make hummus, add cooked chickpeas, sun dried tomato, jalapeno and garlic to a food processor. Add  the left over water from the the cooked chickpeas as needed and pulse till the ingredients are processed to a smooth paste.

Season with salt,  drizzle olive oil, lemon juice and pulse lightly.

Sprinkle some red crushed pepper (optional) and serve with some crackers or make some healthy wraps.

Quick Lunch Series: Raw Green Mango and Chickpea Salad

Hello Spring!

So… A. Soup. A. Week. is finally over. And I am taking a break from soups to try some new recipes.
Before I move on, my most favorite soups were Raw Green Mango and Red Lentil and Roasted Tomato, Onion and Garlic Soups. They were neck to neck and I have decided they both were clear winners!

I found fresh raw green mango at the grocery this week and was excited to see baby green mangoes as well. It reminded me of home. This time of the year, there would be plenty of baby green mangoes dropping from the trees in my garden back home. My mother loved to make Mammidi Bhaddalu (baby mango pickles). And that is what I made with them. You can find the recipe here.

This is one of those quick lunch recipes when you need to pack your lunch box for a work day meal. I wish I had some fresh chickpeas, but canned it is!

Ingredients:
1 can organic chickpeas
1/2 raw green mango sliced fine
1 baby yellow pepper sliced thin
1/8 red onion sliced thin
6-8 cherry tomatoes sliced
1/4 cucumber chopped fine
some shredded carrot
a few mint leaves chopped fine
1-2 tsp of capers
a few pickled or fresh jalapeno sliced

Dressing
1 lemon juice (or unsweetened green mango juice)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper

Toss everything together and enjoy!

Chole Chaat

Chaat is a savory snack made by combining various ingredients such as cooked potato, chickpeas, sweet and sour sauces, yogurt, crunchy sev, topped with chopped tomato, onion and cilantro or any other combination based on the specific kind  of chaat.

This is very popular all across India where chaat is sold on most street corners (see Pani Puri).

Ingredients:
1 cup chole
2-3 tbsp sev or other crunchies
1-2 tbsp chopped onion
1-2 tbsp chopped tomato
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1-2 tbsp smooth yogurt
1 tbsp mint chutney
1 tbsp tamarind-date chutney

Take some warm chole in a bowl. Start layering your favorites toppings. I usually like to add the following:

First sprinkle some sev or crunchies on the chole. Then add some chopped onion and tomato. Next add some mint and date tamarind chutney. Layer some smooth yogurt. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with a hot cuppa tea!

Chaat can be served in different ways in Indian fast food restaurants: samosa chaat, allo tiki chaat, ragda chaat and many more kind.

Go try it! You’ll love it!

See Also:
Pani Puri
Samosa
Chole
Curry Puff
Pav Bhaji

Chickpeas with Spinach (Chole)

Chole is a very popular North Indian dish that is usually a very spicy curry made from chickpeas (channa). It is usually paired with bhature (fried bread). Chole can also be eaten with naan, roti and other types of bread and even with basmathi rice. There are many different ways to cook it. Traditionally it is cooked with onions and tomatoes and steeped in spices such as amchur (mango powder), anardhana (pomegrante powder) and garam masala.

Ingredients:
1 cup dry chickpeas (or use canned)
1-2 cups of chopped spinach
1 medium white or yellow onion chopped
1 medium tomato chopped
2-3 garlic cloves
1 inch piece of ginger
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp amchur (mango powder)
1/4 tsp red chili powder (optional)
pinch of turmeric
salt to taste
cilantro to garnish

If using raw beans, soak in water for 12 to 24 hrs. Boil the chickpeas in 2 cups of water until cooked. I usually prefer to cook them in a pressure cooker. Set aside.

Using a mini chopper or a mortar and pestle grind the garlic and ginger to a paste.

Heat a little oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and turmeric. Once the cumin seeds turn lightly brown add chopped onion and ginger-garlic paste and fry till lightly brown. Add chopped spinach and tomato and continue cooking for 5 min. Add the spices and salt to taste. Add the cooked chickpeas along with any left over water. Add more water as necessary and continue cooking on medium low flame for another 20 minutes until all the spices are infused and all the vegetables are cooked and soften.

Garnish with some cilantro and serve hot with bhature, roti, naan or basmati rice.

Chole

Savory mouth watering chickpea curry eaten as snack (chaat) or with Naan or Roti for dinner. Yummy! It’s what’s for dinner tonight 🙂

Ingredients:

1 cup chickpeas soaked overnight or eight hours (or for the lazy folk use 1 can )
1 medium onion chopped into large pieces
1 large tomato chopped
1 jalapeno sliced
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 inch ginger piece
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder or paprika
1/2 tsp cumin powder
Salt to taste

Pre-cook chickpeas if using dry ones.

For the curry, to the pan add 1 tbsp oil and fry onions till lightly brown, add the sliced jalapeno, ginger, garlic and tomato and cook a few minutes. Add spices and continue cooking till all mix well. Adjust spice quantities based on personal preference. Remove from flame and cool. Grind the mix along with a few cooked chickpeas into a paste. Add the remaining oil (1 tbsp) to a pan and transfer the curry mix to the pan. Add the cooked chickpeas (or canned) to the curry mix and cook on low flame for another 10-15 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Serve hot with some naan (or roti) with yogurt, and lemon pickle.


For samosa chaat:
In a bowl place a warm samosa. Add the chole liberally on top to immerse the samosa. Chop some onions, cilantro and layer on top. Sprinkle some mint chutney, tamarind-date chutney, some yogurt, and paprika.

For Allo tikki:
Boil a potato and mash it. Add salt, some amchur (dried mango powder) and paprika. Flatten to a patty and cook on a pan with some oil to lightly brown both sides. Place in a bowl and top similar to the samosa chaat.

Moroccan spicy chick pea soup

Ingredients:

2 cup chickpeas soaked overnight and washed (or 2 cans )
1 medium onion chopped
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
3-4 cloves garlic minced
2 tomatoes chopped
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp sugar
2-3 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
fresh black pepper
4 cups broth or water

In a large pan heat the oil, add the chopped onion and garlic and fry on low flame until lightly golden. Add the spices and continue frying. Then add the tomatoes and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add chickpeas and enough water or broth to immerse the chickpeas (about  4 cups ) and cook on low flame or in a pressure cooker until the chickpeas soften. Use a potato masher to mash a few chickpeas. Add the chopped spinach and leave for 2 minutes. Remove from flame and serve hot. Servings: 4.